NJCAA Signing Period Kicks Off Today
January 15, 2015
By Rob Allison
Iowa State Director
January 15th is the Official Signing Day for prospective student/athlete's to sign their National Letter of Intents (N.L.I.'s) to the 2-year college of their choice. N.L.I.'s officially bind a student/athlete to that junior college for one calendar year (Fall 2015-Spring 2016). Unlike the NCAA signing periods which provide a window of days for athletes to sign; once the NJCAA signing period begins- it is open and athletes are allowed to sign the remainder of the year. Junior colleges are classified in three categories: Division 1, Division 2, and Division 3.
Junior college has become an attractive option for baseball players in Iowa; with only one Division 1 university in the state- University of Iowa- currently supporting a baseball program. There are currently 69 players in Iowa that have committed to college baseball programs; 38 of those will be attending junior college.
Junior college's have reaped the benefits over the last 5-8 years with many attractive prospects ultimately deciding to attend junior college and re-visit their options after two years in pursuit of a Division 1 or possibly a professional opportunity in the future.
Reigning National Champion and Preseason No. 1 ranked Iowa Western CC expects to receive binding agreements today from two in-state players- No. 12 ranked Korey Kuhlmann and No. 18 ranked Malik Moore. Indian Hills CC has received a commitment from Ottumwa's Chase Wood; the No. 24 ranked player in the Class of 2015. No. 44 ranked Tony Salato will be attending Marshalltown CC.
In the Iowa Division 2 conference; arguably the most competitive DII conference top-to-bottom; in the entire nation- has three teams currently ranked in the Preseason Top 20 Coaches Poll; Southeastern CC at No. 6, Des Moines Area CC at No. 15, and Iowa Central CC at No. 17.
North Iowa Area CC and Iowa Central CC both have commitments from four players currently ranked in the top 50 for the Class of 2015. NIACC has received commitments from No. 8 Connor Enochs, No. 29 Chino Alcala, #34 Fischer Durbala, and #48 Noah Egger. Iowa Central will sign No. 11 Matt Cox, No. 14 Brenden Schnell, No. 25 Austin Suhr, and No. 28 Foster Anshutz. Kirkwood has two ranked in-state players with No. 31 Colin Kreiter and No. 50 Bo Greenlee and Southeastern CC has a commitment from No. 20 ranked Otis Roby from Twin Cedars. Southwestern CC picked up No. 27 Sean Houston.
Four players have made commitments to out-of-state junior colleges with No. 15 Sam Lizarraga and No. 30 Trey Beckman to Wabash Valley CC in Illinois, No. 19 Nick McMurray to Johnson County CC in Kansas, and No. 21 Luke Larson to John A. Logan CC in Illinois.
Below is the full list of current in-state verbal commitments to junior colleges listed by # of overall commitments to each school:
Iowa Central CC
| 2015 | Foster Anshutz | Des Moines Roosevelt | IA | LHP | Iowa Central CC |
| 2015 | Trey Bronner | Cedar Falls | IA | SS | Iowa Central CC |
| 2015 | Brady Corson | Cedar Falls | IA | LHP | Iowa Central CC |
| 2015 | Matt Cox | Bettendorf | IA | C | Iowa Central CC |
| 2015 | Spencer Franko | Sioux City East | IA | SS | Iowa Central CC |
| 2015 | Austin Halligan | Fort Dodge | IA | OF | Iowa Central CC |
| 2015 | Bryce Kearns | W. Central Valley | IA | RHP | Iowa Central CC |
| 2015 | Samuel Kornstad | Adel Desoto Minburn | IA | LHP | Iowa Central CC |
| 2015 | Nolan Reinhardt | Dowling Catholic | IA | 1B | Iowa Central CC |
| 2015 | Brenden Schnell | Humboldt | IA | RHP | Iowa Central CC |
| 2015 | Matt Stone | Bettendorf | IA | RHP | Iowa Central CC |
| 2015 | Austin Suhr | Pleasant Valley | IA | RHP | Iowa Central CC |
North Iowa Area CC
| 2015 | Chino Alcala | Des Moines East | IA | 1B | North Iowa Area CC |
| 2015 | Fischer Durbala | Burlington | IA | 2B/MIF | North Iowa Area CC |
| 2015 | Noah Egger | Waukee | IA | RHP | North Iowa Area CC |
| 2015 | Connor Enochs | Des Moines East | IA | SS | North Iowa Area CC |
| 2015 | Zack Hamilton | Southeast Polk | IA | C | North Iowa Area CC |
| 2015 | Tyler Jacobsen | Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton | IA | RHP | North Iowa Area CC |
Southeastern CC
| 2015 | Tanner Foster | Martensdale St. Mary's | IA | RHP | Southeastern CC |
| 2015 | Blake Hargens | Cedar Rapids Kennedy | IA | RHP | Southeastern CC |
| 2015 | Otis Roby | Twin Cedars | IA | RHP | Southeastern CC |
Kirkwood CC
| 2015 | Bo Greenlee | Waverly Shell Rock | IA | LHP | Kirkwood CC |
| 2015 | Colin Kreiter | North Scott | IA | OF | Kirkwood CC |
| 2015 | Drew Yanecek | Cedar Rapids Prairie | IA | 3B | Kirkwood CC |
Iowa Western CC
| 2015 | Malik Moore | Waukee | IA | OF | Iowa Western CC |
| 2015 | Korey Kuhlmann | Maple Valley Anthon Oto | IA | LHP | Iowa Western CC |
Ellsworth CC
| 2015 | Evan Jackson | Clinton | IA | OF | Ellsworth CC |
| 2015 | Alex Muhlenberg | Roland Story | IA | C | Ellsworth CC |
Wabash Valley CC
| 2015 | Trey Beckman | Cedar Rapids Prairie | IA | OF | Wabash Valley CC |
| 2015 | Sam Lizarraga | Kennedy | IA | RHP | Wabash Valley CC |
Iowa Lakes CC
| 2015 | Mason Gibson | Madrid | IA | LHP | Iowa Lakes CC |
| 2015 | Connor Lamp | Woodbury Central | IA | LHP | Iowa Lakes CC |
Indian Hills CC
| 2015 | Chase Wood | Ottumwa | IA | 3B | Indian Hills CC |
Des Moines Area CC
| 2015 | Jeremy Bentley | Des Moines East | IA | LHP | Des Moines Area CC |
John A Logan CC
| 2015 | Luke Larson | Cedar Rapids Jefferson | IA | SS | John Logan CC |
Johnson County CC
| 2015 | Nick McMurray | Dowling Catholic | IA | SS | Johnson County CC |
Marshalltown CC
| 2015 | Tony Salato | Knoxville | IA | C | Marshalltown CC |
Southwestern CC
| 2015 | Sean Houston | Denison | IA | SS | Southwestern CC |
Please send all Commitments to [email protected]
